EricBall

I'm trying to understand what you have done. The TIA's musical abilities are less than spectacular - mostly due to the limited frequencies provided by the 5 bit frequency divisor. So what would be the point in controlling it via MIDI (unless you want to use it as a part of a "chip tune" piece)?

I'll have to hunt around, but I did some sample DL builder routines - I think they're in my AA blog. But I'll try to look at your code and see if I can make any suggestions.

It will be interesting to see how sales of this next generation play out. However, I suspect that while people may scream "never, ever" now, they will still buy 'em for Christmas. Because, in the end, used games aren't as important as playing the games. I have to assume that MS has run all of the numbers and it it's a good business decision in their eyes. Personally, I will buy both used (not Gamestop, 'cause GS prices are close enough to new that I might as well buy new) and new. However, I will not buy a console on first release. There has to be several "must have" games. I bought the N64 when it first came out to play SM64, and then had to wait forever for the next "must have" game. I didn't buy a GameCube until much later, and might have even bought the console used. My son bought the Wii, so that doesn't count. Even the PS3 wasn't bought until the slim came out. I don't have a WiiU (yet) and will wait & see on the Xbone & PS4.

I wouldn't bother trying to optimize your website for Google PageRank unless you're trying to push traffic in order to make $$. And even then, you should be able to determine whether the time & effort is worth the increased revenue. Rather than delete it, make it as static as possible so you're not having to actively manage it. Links come and go, this has long been the curse of the WWW - so don't worry about it. But as Gorfy says, your page is a great resource and it would be a shame if it disappeared entirely.

It appears to me that MS going with the all-digital-download model for Xbox One games. Even if you buy the physical disc, the Xbox One treats it like a digital download - just copying the game from the disc rather than downloading over the network. No, MS hasn't said this explicitly but I think it's the best explanation for what they have said (in public statements and in leaked private statements). Of course, everyone wants to know how this model will effect certain properties typical to the physical model, i.e. the ability to borrow, lend, rent, sell, trade & buy used. Traditional digital download models, i.e. iTunes & Steam, simply discard these properties. eBooks can be borrowed from libraries, but that is a intentional extra feature and not something which is inherent & implicit to eBooks. The question is whether MS will provide similar features for Xbox One games, and how those features will be implemented. On the subject of used games, I often see the statement that game buyers consider the resale value as part of the price of a game. (i.e. a game may be $60 on the shelf, but it's really only $40 because it is worth $20 in GameStop credit.) While this may be true for people who buy games frequently, it's not true for me. I have less time than money, so I tend to buy infrequently. I also don't tend to sell my games after I have finished them.

@Nateo, spend some time with TVfool.com to figure out what stations & directions you can probably receive.

Remember that the Propeller knows zero about how to make pixels appear on the Microvision screen. The Propeller only knows about it's own hardware - everything outside of that requires programming. For some stuff (e.g. serial I/O) someone else might have written code which you can re-use. (Much of this code is in the Object Exchange: http://obex.parallax.com/ ) But even that code may require some tweaking (or at least some effort to use). (Note: you'd have the same issue with other microcontrollers - including the Arduino family.) Yes, there are other languages for the Propeller - FORTH is another popular one. The problem with other languages is they can have problems living in the limited RAM and taking advantage of all eight processors. Thus I'd recommend trying to learn SPIN and PASM, because those are the native languages and can take best advantage of the Propeller. (Although I believe one of the Propeller Basics compiles to PASM and shows the translation in the listing, which can be helpful.) Just like programming in assembly, you need to break your project down into baby steps. You now have the tools to start to learn how to program the Propeller, so focus on that.

Not a good way to start your education (maybe send Parallax a note and let them know). From http://www.parallax.com/tabid/832/Default.aspx download Propeller/Spin Tool Software v1.3.2 which includes the driver, the IDE and the manuals. Then have a look at http://learn.parallax.com/KickStart and http://www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/PropellerDevelopmentBoards/tabid/514/CategoryID/73/List/0/SortField/0/Level/a/ProductID/748/Default.aspx for KickStart specific information.

The Propeller has an onboard 32K ROM containing the bootloader, SPIN interpreter, and some hardcoded data like a font and sine table. The 64K EEPROM (which is kinda like flash memory) is where your game would be stored when the game is turned off. The bootloader automatically loads the onboard 32K RAM from the EEPROM. From my perspective there are two "do first" tasks: 1. Start reading up on the Propeller documentation and spend some time experimenting with the Quickstart board. There are sample projects explicitly for the Quickstart. Try to make a game which uses the 8 touch-buttons and 8 LEDs along with terminal I/O (via the USB serial connection). Your objective is to learn the new programming languages you will need to use to create your game. 2. Learn to read Dan B's schematics, then spend some time probing the Microvision LCD controller with your mulitmeter to determine the input & output voltage levels. Your objective is to determine whether it will be easy / safe to connect the Propeller directly to the LCD controller, or if you will need additional parts. (The Propeller has 3.3V inputs & outputs). This then will lead you to the next step which is to use the Propeller to capture the input to the LCD so you can reverse engineer it and write a driver for the Propeller.

I wonder if battery life has improved most due to lower power electronics / screens, higher power batteries, or larger batteries. White LEDs have obviously helped a lot.

I had a thought this morning. My main gripe with GT5 (note - I've never played any of the previous versions) isn't the grinding for experience levels - it's the car shopping process. So not only do I have to play the same license test or race multiple times to try to get a better result - I need to do it to get enough money to buy the right car to access another set of races. My thought is to turn the bonuses on their head. When I successfully complete a license test or race set I get a car which I can then use in the next race set. The car should be competitive - allowing me to complete the race set with a reasonable skill to tuning trade-off. This then allows the majority of purchasers to play through the majority of the contents. But for the obsessive-compulsive completists, you make the gold trophy bonuses some of the worst performing cars - then have special races & achievements just for them. Can you win the K-car challenge in an unmodified pre-1980 car? Or online races only for steam powered vehicles. There will still be the supercars, exotics, prototypes, performance parts and decorative paint schemes to buy with race winnings - but the real measure of racing ability will be how bad the cars in your garage are.

At least DCSS locks down the format and compression to a reasonable number of options. The Crucial M500 is 960GB for $600 - so you're looking for 2^6 over 120 months, or a doubling every 20 months. That might happen, although I think there will be some physical density challenges.

It sounds like your turntable has standard line-out jacks, which you could record with your VCR. You could probably find the correct adapter so you could plug them into the 1/8 jack on your computer.

I'm sure you're right. Assuming you can avoid generation losses during production, then you only take a minor hit on the final conversion. What's more likely is your workflow will become uncompressed as increases in CPU, network and disk space capacity make compression less relevant (just like DCSS uses uncompressed audio). So again the video will only be compressed once. Colorspace conversion will probably still be required unfortunately.

Seems to me if your workflow output video to JPEG 2000 as per the DCSS spec that you would avoid any loss.

DCP sounds like a great deal for you guys, especially when you can do it (and watch it) in-house and avoid any generation losses.

I've been replaying GT5 as the fire wiped out any progress I had made, and I'm even less impressed with it now than I was before. I guess I'm just not the target audience - I'm not willing to grind.

Big money programs are typically used to make money. $2K is a small cost if you need it to earn a million dollars.

Assuming the video is in some digital format you can use VirtualDub or AviSynth for the post-processing you mentioned.

Yes & no. The 7800 Maria GPU is very different from the A8 ANTIC/GTIA. So while the 7800 has a display list interrupt, it doesn't get used for the same purpose as the A8. See https://sites.google.com/site/atari7800wiki/atari-5200 and https://sites.google.com/site/atari7800wiki/graphics-programming/display-list-interrupts for a more detailed explanation.

Beware of DVR storage creep. It's hard to avoid filling with stuff "I'll watch later" or FISH (first in, still here). On my old TiVo I had AFI top 100 movies which were over a year old - and still unwatched. On my current cableco DVR I have some Doctor Who Christmas specials (recorded over Christmas) that I need to clean out ASAP.

I've used the front speaker boxes as temporary stands for the surround speakers and the packing foam to raise the front speakers up so the tweeters are more in line with the center of the screen. I'll build something out of plywood and 2x2s later. For the moment I'm not using the center speaker (and I really hadn't planned to), although I did connect the powered subwoofer. I guess I could have skipped buying the center, but I figured if I did then Murphy would make sure I'd regret the decision at some point in the future. I had fun watching Tron Legacy last night (3-D and surround sound, woo-hoo!).

I'm sorry that you didn't realize the scope of the project until after you spent money on it. Maybe you can return the QuickStart. Or you can have fun with a new toy.

Re: Hacking (note: this is not a complete list) Hardware: What voltage levels does the LCD controller need. If native 3.3V output is not sufficient what parts are needed to convert the output. What components are needed to connect the switch matrix & dial potenitometer so they can be used. What components are needed to drive the speaker (the QuickStart doesn't have an onboard amplifier like the Demoboard) How does this all physically come together, i.e. the cartridge connector (including stuff like the 9V loopback) and in the cartridge Software: What pin states & timing are needed to send to the LCD controller to get something to appear onscreen (including the "inversion" referenced in the documentation). Best way to do this is to capture the logic used by an actual cartridge and then reverse engineer it. Just check the voltage levels first so you don't overload your inputs. Creating the software to do everything including driving the LCD controller & speaker, reading the keypad and dial, capturing the LCD controller protocol, not to mention the game itself and all the necessary debugging All of this is possible, although soldering will probably be required.

#1 - While connected to the PC via USB, the Quickstart will self power from the USB. You can use this to experiment with the Propeller via the serial terminal. In the game (not connected to USB at the same time) you would need to connect pins 40 (Vin) & 39 (Vss) on the Quickstart accessory socket to pins 24 (+9V) and 20 (GND) of the Microvision cartridge connector. #2 - You would connect the other pins on the Microvision cartridge connection to pins on the Quickstart accessory socket. However, you need to establish first what voltage levels the LCD controller expects as you may need a level converter (and possibly an additional voltage convertor) if it needs more than 3.3V. Then there's the whole LCD controller protocol you will need to work out along with the driver software for it and the keypad & dial. No, this isn't a plug & program solution - there's serious hardware & software hacking required. #3 - No idea. Maybe Dan Boris or some of the other Microvision enthusiasts has an idea. The name is good.